A cortical study of the attention in military simulation tests

Attention is one of the most widely studied superior cerebral functions and base of many other cognitive processes. It is sometimes understood as concentration on a task or target. The level of execution of a task and the ability to process information are dependent on the state of cerebral activation of the subject. This brain activity can be recorded with the electroencephalogram (EEG).

Attention is studied in states of rest and during the performance of tasks in military personnel, exploring the differences between two groups (cadets and officers/NCOs).

EEG signals have been recorded from 19 cadets and 17 officers of the General Military Academy and from the General Hospital of the Defense during military simulation tasks and in states of rest. Our team uses its own methodology of the dynamic systems and fractal techniques for the modeling and quantification of the EEG signals, in this case for the computation of the fractal dimension of the record of each derivation. The data obtained are subjected to a statistical study.

Higher cortical global mean values were observed in the officers group. The dimension increases in both groups by raising the difficulty of the task in all areas of the brain except in the frontal zone. They highlight the significant differences between groups in the simulation task of driving combat vehicle in the central, parietal and temporal areas.

The results obtained show that the two groups studied do not behave homogeneously in the same attention task that involves a video game.